Everything That Drowns Me (Makes Me Wanna Fly)
by WinterSky101
Summary: Marinette and Adrien have dinner with Gabriel. Adrien assures Marinette that's it not weird that she's more nervous than she was when they took down Hawk-Moth. Ladybug/Chat Noir. Sixth in "Take Us Down (And We Keep Trying)."


**I think that Gabriel and Marinette would actually get along pretty well, so I wanted to add that into this 'verse. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Title comes from "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own ML.**

* * *

"Do you think I look okay?" Marinette twists in front of her mirror, looking at the dress she's wearing from all angles. It's loosely based on a long qipao, but with some of Marinette's own flair added to the traditional design. "Maybe it's a bad idea to wear a dress I designed myself. Should I change into something else?"

"Girl," Alya replies, hardly even looking up, "I've seen the way Adrien looks at you. You could show up at his place wearing a paper bag and he'd think you were beautiful."

"But his father-" Marinette protests.

"Okay, spin for me," Alya declares. Marinette does. "That dress looks super cute!" Alya compliments. "Adrien and his dad will love it. I'm not sure about the bag, though. You always carry that thing around. Maybe go without it tonight."

Now would be a perfect opportunity for Marinette to tell Alya the truth. _Actually, I need the bag because it has my kwami Tikki inside. Tikki helps me transform into Ladybug, and I need to have her with me in case Ladybug is needed._ Okay, maybe it's not the _smoothest_ confession ever, but Marinette could give it a try. Except Marinette and Adrien were going to tell Alya and Nino together. They'd actually had a tentative plan to do it this weekend.

That was before Gabriel Agreste found out his son had a girlfriend.

Marinette and Adrien still aren't entirely certain how Gabriel found out. But when he had, he wasn't particularly pleased. Adrien and his father had a long, drawn-out argument that resulted in Gabriel agreeing to give Marinette one chance to prove herself. Gabriel doesn't dislike Marinette, which Adrien insists meant she has an advantage over most people, but he isn't certain that she's worthy of dating his son. Marinette has this one night to prove that she was.

"Earth to Marinette?" Alya asks, waving a hand in front of her face. "Take this bag instead." Alya stuffs a small clutch into Marinette's hands and pulls her other bag off her shoulder. "Now, what are we going to do with your hair?"

"I hadn't even thought about my hair!" Marinette cries, looking in horror at her reflection. Her hair is still in her signature pigtails, but that's not good enough for a dinner at the Agreste house. "Alya, help!"

"Don't worry, girl," Alya replies, grabbing her phone. "I thought this might happen, so I have a couple ideas. Here we go." Alya turned the phone around, showing Marinette a sophisticated updo.

"Is my hair long enough for that?" Marinette asked, twisting a bit of her hair around her finger.

Alya studies Marinette for a moment. "Let's see," she says, pulling out of the pigtails. "Hmm. Your hair looks about as long as this girl's. If she can do it, I think you can."

"Can we do it in half an hour?" Marinette asks. "Because that's when Adrien's limo is coming to pick me up." She blinks as the sentence sinks in. "Adrien's _limo_. I'm dating a boy with a _limo_."

"Yes, you are," Alya agrees. "And girl, I can definitely do this hairstyle in half an hour. Trust me."

Alya is true to her word; about twenty minutes later, Marinette's hair is twisted up into a tasteful updo, with a few curled tendrils of hair falling around her face. "You look beautiful," Alya tells Marinette. "Mr. Agreste is gonna love you."

"I hope so," Marinette replies, twisting her hands together. "But Alya, what if he doesn't? What if he hates me and then I have to break up with Adrien and Mr. Agreste starts homeschooling him again and Adrien and I never see each other for the rest of our lives?"

Alya puts her hands on Marinette's shoulders. "Marinette. It's gonna be okay. You're going to impress Mr. Agreste so much that he _begs_ you to date Adrien. Just remember to use full sentences and you'll be good."

Marinette nods. "Full sentences, right."

"Marinette!" Sabine calls, and Marinette jumps about a foot in the air. "Come downstairs, honey! Your father and I want to see how you look."

"I'll be right down!" Marinette calls back.

"You've got this, girl," Alya tells Marinette, grinning at her. "Let's go."

They're halfway down the stairs when Marinette realizes she doesn't have her clutch with her. "I've got to get my bag," she tells Alya. "I'll be right down."

"Okay," Alya agrees easily. Marinette darts back upstairs and grabs her purse and her clutch. She opens the purse and Tikki flies out.

"Can you fit in the clutch?" she asks, holding out the little bag.

"I can fit," Tikki assures Marinette. "This is so exciting!"

"Marinette, the car is here!" Sabine calls. Marinette almost screams, grabs the clutch with Tikki now inside, and comes very close to falling down the stairs.

"Oh, you look lovely, honey," Sabine tells Marinette, giving her a tight hug. "Adrien's waiting downstairs. He looks almost as nice as you do."

"I'm nervous, Mom," Marinette admits in a small voice. "What if his dad doesn't like me?"

"He'll love you," Sabine tells Marinette firmly. "And even if he doesn't like you, I don't think Adrien's going to let that stop him. I've seen the way that boy looks at you. He's not going to let anyone get in between the two of you."

"You think so?" Marinette asks, twisting her hands together.

Sabine nods firmly. "Go downstairs, honey. He's waiting for you."

Marinette takes a deep breath and nods, going to the stairs. She grips the banister tightly, then lets go of it and starts down the stairs.

"Here she is," Alya says, beaming. Adrien follows her gaze and his jaw drops.

Marinette blushes. "Hi," she says shyly.

"Marinette, wow," Adrien stammers. "You- You look- _Wow_."

"Do you like it?" Marinette asks, spinning. "I designed it myself."

"You designed-" Adrien's eyes are practically bugging out of his head. "Is there anything you _can't_ do, my lady?"

"Do you think your dad will like it?" Marinette asks.

"I think my father's going to ask to add it to the Agreste evening wear line," Adrien replies. "Honestly, Marinette, he's going to try to hire you on the spot." He looks down at his own suit. "Now I feel underdressed."

"You look nice!" Marinette cries. "I like the green tie. It brings out your eyes."

"This isn't exactly the kind of suit I'm used to," Adrien admits. Marinette giggles. They both ignore the confusion on everyone else's faces.

"Let me take a picture of you two before you go!" Tom says, grabbing the camera. "Smile, you two!"

Marinette smiles at her father patiently for the pictures. She feels Adrien's hand intertwine with her own and she blushes slightly. "I don't suppose you two will kiss for one?" Tom asks teasingly.

"Leave the kids alone," Sabine scolds. "Have fun, you two. Adrien, have her home before midnight."

"Of course I will, Madame Cheng," Adrien replies. "Come on, Marinette. Have you ever ridden in a limo before?"

"Not all of us have our own limos, kitty," Marinette retorts.

Adrien beams at Marinette as he opens the car door for her. "Then, after you, my lady."

Marinette climbs into the limo and Adrien climbs in after her. The car starts the second Adrien closes the door. "It's nice," Marinette says, pulling her seatbelt on. "Very spacious."

"Father insisted," Adrien replies, looking a little embarrassed. "He's… Well, he still remembers your hat from the contest, so there's that."

"But you don't think he likes me?" Marinette asks, her heart sinking.

"It's not that!" Adrien assures her quickly. "It's just… You know my father. He's got really high standards. And he doesn't know you, so…"

"So I just need to prove that I can meet those standards," Marinette tells herself, trying to sound confident. "How come this scares me more than going against Hawk-Moth did?"

"My father can be pretty scary," Adrien agrees. "But I think it'll be okay. He'll definitely be impressed by that dress."

"Do you think so?" Marinette asks, looking down at the fabric and smoothing it down with her hands. "Should I have worn something else? Maybe it wasn't a good idea to wear one of my own designs."

"No, that dress was definitely a good idea," Adrien tells Marinette firmly. "You look great. And my father will love you."

"Stop worrying so much, Marinette!" Tikki chirps, poking her head out of the clutch. "It'll be okay."

"Listen to Tikki," Plagg adds, popping out from Adrien's suit jacket. "It'll be fine. Adrien's dad isn't that scary."

"Yeah, he is," Adrien counters. Plagg gives him a dirty look. "But it'll be okay," Adrien quickly adds. "Don't worry, Marinette."

"But what if he doesn't like me?" Marinette protests.

"Then we have to be a bit more secretive about our dates," Adrien replies with a shrug. "And maybe my dad will be a bit more strict with me. But we'll still have our Saturdays. And we'll see each other in school. It'll be okay."

The car stops. Marinette bites her lip. "This is it."

"Are you ready?" Adrien asks.

Marinette takes a long look at the house before nodding. "Yeah. I'm ready."

Adrien opens the door to the limo and steps out. He offers Marinette his arm as she steps out. There's a figure waiting at the open doors. Marinette knows immediately who it is.

"We'll be fine," Adrien tells her confidently.

"I know," Marinette replies. Adrien squeezes her arm gently in encouragement.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng," Gabriel drawls as Marinette and Adrien reach the doors. "A pleasure, as always."

"Thank you, Monsieur Agreste," Marinette replies, bobbing a curtsey. She notices Gabriel give Adrien a somewhat skeptical look. Her face flushes immediately. Maybe the curtsey was too much.

"What a lovely dress, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Gabriel compliments. "Who is the designer? I don't quite recognize the style."

"Oh!" Marinette smooths her hands over her dress. "I, um, I designed it myself."

Gabriel looks impressed. Marinette can't believe that she just impressed _the_ Gabriel Agreste. "Quite an accomplishment," he says, turning and entering the house. Marinette and Adrien follow him. "Tell me, Miss Dupain-Cheng, do you plan to become a fashion designer?"

"I'd like to be one, yes," Marinette replies, nodding.

"Hmm." Gabriel's lips thin slightly. "You do realize, I assume, that so long as I am head of _Gabriel_ , there will be no nepotism in hiring?"

" _Father_!" Adrien protests. He shoots Marinette an apologetic look.

"I would expect nothing less," Marinette replies, calling on some of her Ladybug confidence to help her. She's insulted, but she thinks that might have been the point. "I would never want to get ahead by anything but my own merits."

"I'm glad to hear it," Gabriel replies. "I assure you, if you were to be hired to _Gabriel_ , it would be on your own merits."

Marinette blinks, feeling her cheeks flush with pleasure. She hadn't expected a _compliment_ from Gabriel. "Thank you, sir."

"Where do you purchase the materials for your designs?" Gabriel asks, which is apparently the first step down the rabbit hole, because Marinette and Gabriel spend the rest of the dinner discussing fashion while Adrien watches in amusement and occasionally pipes in with insights from the modeling side of things. All in all, Marinette thinks the date went pretty well.

"My father loved you," Adrien tells Marinette when they get back in the car later that night. "I don't think I've ever seen him get along that well with anyone before."

"He's not so bad," Marinette replies, shrugging. "Do you think he was honest about that offer to let me shadow him at _Gabriel_ for a day?"

"I don't think he would have offered if he wasn't honest," Adrien replies. "Honestly, Marinette, he loved you."

"Is he the only one?" Marinette asks cheekily.

Adrien smiles and brings Marinette's hand to his lips. "I love you too, Bugaboo."

"Don't call me Bugaboo," Marinette sighs. Adrien's smile only widens. "I love you too, my silly kitty, even if you call me by horrible nicknames."

"I'm glad to hear it," Adrien replies, and he leans in to press a gentle kiss to Marinette's lips.

It's the perfect ending to a perfect night.


End file.
